A List of SPDR ETFs for Your Investment Portfolio

If you have an affinity for SPDRs, you’ve come to the right place. SPDRs are a great way to gain exposure to a variety of markets and sectors as well as reaping the benefits of ETFs.

And for those that are new to SPDRs, they are officially known as a Standard & Poors Depository Receipts. Pronounced "spider," SPDRs are a family of exchange=traded funds traded in the United States, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Managed by State Street Global Advisors, SPDRs are like a mini-portfolio of stocks and derivatives with the goal of emulating an investment vehicle like an index or commodity. In short, SPDRs are types of ETFs. They track some of the most actively traded indexes and commodities on the U.S. exchanges.

The SPY (or SPDR ETF) may be Good for You

SPY is a SPDR ETF that tracks the S&P 500 so, if you had an interest in the market, or specifically in the S&P 500, buying SPY shares may be the best way to beef up your investment portfolio. The reason using a SPDR may be a bit easier than investing directly in an index is because the ETF is pre-packaged with shares of stocks in the actual S&P 500.

The SPY SPDR requires only one transaction to gain instant exposure to the index and market. In the case of buying shares in the index, you would have to make multiple trades or purchases to fill your index basket and additionally have to battle index pricing. This could increase your transaction costs and fees and make it difficult to get the desired price you are seeking.

SPDRs also offers many advantages. Besides their ease of use, one of the biggest advantages is their tax benefit. this is not saying that an SPDR doesn’t have its disadvantages, but there is a reason SPDRs are some of the more popular investment vehicles.